Man Arrested As Svetlana Found Safe And Well

Svetlana’s been found safe and well, she will be reunited with her family later tonight...Gardai end rescue alert as teen located in North

- Ian Mangan And John Kierans

Gardai last night stood down their Child Rescue Alert for 14-year-old Svetlana Murphy after the teen was located safely.

A major search operation had been taking place throughout the day after officers issued an urgent appeal in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Svetlana was located safe and well in Belfast and was due to be reunited with her family.

Gardai also confirmed an 18-year-old male had been arrested by the PSNI and remained in custody last night.

Svetlana had left her home in Blackrock, Co Louth, on Monday and had been missing since.

She was reported to be in the company of her 18-year-old boyfriend Nojus Maculevicius.

Gardai had issued repeated appeals every two hours throughout the day as desperate searches for the teenager were carried out across the country.

Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock to Newry, Co Down, on Monday where they were sighted at approximately 7pm.

Images of a silver Hyundai Veloster car and its registration were shared on social media in a bid to find the missing teen.

Gardai had expressed concerns there was “an immediate and serious risk to her health or welfare”.

A Garda spokesman said last night: “The Child Rescue Ireland Alert has now been stood down.

“Svetlana Murphy has been located safe and well in the Belfast area.